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Goju Adorai
Goju was a ninja Scorpion who was the first human to fell to the Darkness. It was Goju's bitterness that turned the supernatural force into a truly evil entity. Goju took another name for himself to cast aside the fleeting memory of the man he once had been, and as Goju Adorai was the first leader of the forces of the Lying Darkness. Goju Goju was the first human to fell to the Shadows, Way of the Ninja, p. 8 Spreading the Shadow (Fire and Shadow flavor) Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 53 so he was also named the First Goju. The Dragon Clan, by Edward Bolme and Ree Soesbee (Imperial Herald #15) Scholar According to some sources, at the Dawn of the Empire Goju was studying the Lying Darkness in his text the Celestial Agonies. When the Kami fell to Rokugan and started the clans, Goju ran from them in fear. This fear made him susceptible to the Lying Darkness, War of the Dead Way of Shadow, p. 147 who became aware of him. Goju’s fear faded, replaced by madness. This was the start of the Goju family. Enemies of the Empire, p. 132 Scorpion Origin Other, more sustained account, identified Goju as a Scorpion, comrade of Bayushi Aramoro. When Hantei X in the 5th century ordered the Scorpion ninja network dismantled, he became the leader of one of many renegade groups. Way of the Ninja, pp. 7-8 When the house fell of favor and all of its members were to be executed for treason, they became servants of the Lying Darkness, with Adorai as their leader. The Hidden Emperor, pp. 5-6 This account was the true one. Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 54 Falling to the Darkness Goju and his followers fled the Imperial Magistrates, and found the Lying Darkness waiting for them. Eager to recruit minions who could act directly in the mortal world, the Darkness offered them the power they required to escape. The Goju became strange, shapeshifting creatures who commanded the shadows. Way of the Ninja, p. 52 Goju had always been a man plagued by dark dreams sent by the Lying Darkness, but when he was cast from the Scorpion he succumbed to the lure of its power. With time, Goju became one with the Darkness. Lying Darkness Though the Darkness had always moved towards the goal of unmaking all of creation, it was Goju's bitterness that turned the supernatural force of the Lying Darkness into a truly evil entity. Goju family In a sick mockery of the families of Rokugan, Goju gave his name to those who fell to the influence of the Shadow. Eventually, shapeshifting servants of the Lying Darkness came to be known as "the Goju," and Goju took another name for himself, as Goju Adorai. Goju Adorai was the mortal mind at the core of the Lying Darkness for over a thousand years. The Goju family included his own descendants, as well as those transformed by the Darkness who desperately sought to retain their name. Concealed Identity The Naga guessed the person known as Goju Adorai was the original Goju, Clan Letter to the Naga #11 (Imperial Herald v3 #3) as well as Asako Togama. Clan Letter to the Phoenix #11 (Imperial Herald v3 #3) Adorai sometimes referred to himself as Goju. Hidden Emperor, p. 88 War Against Shadow Morikage Toshi The Goju kidnapped Emperor Toturi I and kept him imprisoned in the Morikage Toshi to be possessed by the Nothing. The Storming of Morikage Castle, Part 3, by Ree Soesbee When the Empire was able to free him, Adorai considered it his first defeat, but the first Empire's mistake, being reigned by a mad emperor. Sabotage (Honor Bound flavor) Naga Adorai had been hidden from Rokugan and he was believed to be dead. In 1132, Hida Yakamo was restored to life through the sacrifice of Shashakar. Yakamo told the Naga about the Shadows and where the Nothing really resided. The naga priests took the Balash, tortured his mind and became one with his soul to see what had happened at Morikage. Balash whispered one name, Goju Adorai, dispelling his illusion. Clan Letter to the Naga #11 (Imperial Herald v3 #3) Kokujin Adorai through imprisoned Shosuro made a bargain with the mad tattooed Dragon Hitomi Kokujin. The Dragon would join the Shadowlands forces and Adorai would lure the armies of the Empire to a trap deep in the Shadowlands. There they would be surrounded by the minions of Jigoku and destroyed. The Race to Volturnum: Shadowlands War in the Shadowlands The same year Adorai contacted Kuni Yori, revealing the confusion the Lying Darkness provoked between Ikoma Tsanuri and the Crab, which was instrumental in the delay of Hida O-Ushi's arrival at Shiro Hiruma. Adorai requested Yori's aid to defence Oblivion's Gate while the Darkness infested Yomi, in return for his help against the only power that could defy Yori in the Shadowlands supremacy, Kyoso no Oni. Yori agreed and Moto Tsume guided by Adorai hunted down the rogue Oni Lord. Hidden Emperor, p. 52 Assault on Otosan Uchi After the return of the Kami Shinjo the Empire marched in the Assault on Otosan Uchi. Adorai prepared the defence of the Emperor and Adorai released the Great Sea Spider from its Ocean prison using an ancient biwa nemuranai crafted by Asahina minions of the Darkness. The spider allied itself with the Lying Darkness and Onnotangu, and weaved a web of Shadows over Otosan Uchi. Minions of the Darkness infested the city, slaughtering any rokugani they met. Hidden Emperor, p. 53 Death of Onnotangu At the same time Hitomi ascended to the Celestial Heavens and challenged Onnotangu. When the avatar of Lord Moon was killed by Takao Hitomi was able to kill Onnotangu, and the Shadows disappeared from the Imperial City. Being Toturi again disappeared the battle for the city ended. Toturi Disappears Adorai sent his minions to find Toturi, who had disappeared and was beyond the grasp of the Shadow. Clan Letter to the Ninja #1 (Imperial Herald v3 #4) The Darkness in the Shadowlands When Onnotangu was killed by Hitomi the power of the Darkness unfolded. Adorai strenghtened ties with Kuni Yori. The tainted Crab accepted the new ally and undead forces marched alongside the minions of the Shadows. Clan Letter to the Horde #6 (Imperial Herald v3 #4) Hidden Emperor, p. 55 Adorai promised to the Dark Moto that each of the living Moto would join the Dark Moto the moment their hearts ceased to beat, no matter where they fell. Clan Letter to the Shadowlands #5 (Imperial Herald v3 #3) Adorai's Betrayal When Shosuro escaped from his crystal prison, Adorai realized his own influence over the Lying Darkness was waning. Shosuro sought to suplant him as the Shadows' Avatar, and the Darkness would resume its original goal to unmake all the creation, rather than remaking it as Adorai's will. The Goju passed the Oblivion's Gate seeking Bayushi, the only being who might stop Shosuro. Adorai told Bayushi that Shosuro had returned and escaped. Bayushi's soul returned to the Mortal Realm in the Sleeping Lake. Hidden Emperor, p. 65 The Scorpion Kami recalled Bayushi Kachiko through the surface of the lake. Hidden Emperor, p. 64 Destroying the Memory Adorai began to destroy Rokugan's connections with its past. Dark Energy (Ambition's Debt flavor) The Ikoma Histories were wiped clean by minions of the Shadow. The kolat had stolen the most complete coopy of the Tao of Shinsei, including the New Tao, to preserve it before it could be destroyed as well. Half of the Tao had passed to a kolat, Ikudaiu, who delivered it to Daidoji Rekai. The other half was presumed lost, when the kolat ronin who tried to give it to his masters was hunted down by the Lying Darkness and the scrolls were scattered across a cliff, falling toward the sea. Run four your Lives (Fire and Shadow flavor) Clan Letter to the Ninja (Imperial Herald v4 #2) Final Stand Volturnum In 1133 the Empire had rallied their armies and marched to Volturnum, being blocked by the Shadowlands. The Council of Five speedied one thousand of samurai directly to the gates of Volturnum, but their number was very little to conquer the walls. In Jigoku Toturi, Doji Hoturi and Isawa Tadaka had rallied an army of dead souls and the Goju had to fight also in the other side of Oblivion's Gate. The appearance of the Tenth Kami, Ryoshun, broke the shadows in the Jigoku, and Adorai began to seal the Gate, fearing the spirit army could cross to the other side to aid the Empire at Rokugan. The Herald's Tale The ise zumi led by Hitomi Iyojin used the Hitomi's Last Gift to completely destroy the city's gates. Adorai was hoovering over the battle, and asked his forces to repel the thousand samurai of the empire at the gates. The Battle at Oblivion's Gate, by Ree Soesbee Plans within Plans Adorai had been engineered the current situation. The Empire armies had been gathered deep in the Shadowlands at Volturnum, their ranks being decimated and tainted fighting the minions of the Shadowlands and the Goju. Their souls would be darkened by the fall of Oblivion's Gate and would be one with the Shadow. Rokugan was nearly undefended to protect the Empire from his final assault, and the Goju corrupted the land of the Empire to the north. The Great Sea Spider had been awakened to cover Otosan Uchi with a web of lies and deceit, and the Imperial City would fall to the Shadow. This was Adorai's plan from the beginning and there would be no Empire for them to return to save. A Letter from Goju Utsuei (Imperial Herald v4 #4) Death of Yoritomo Yoritomo was confronted by Adorai who attempted to convince the Mantis Clan Champion to join the Shadow by giving up his name. Yoritomo replied that he had already given his name to his followers. Adorai was outraged and lashed out at Yoritomo, severely wounding the Champion before fleeing. Aramasu, who had been watching nearby, raced over to his adoptive father. Dying, Yoritomo passed leadership on to Aramasu. Aramasu took up his father's kama and ended Yoritomo's suffering, fulfilling the prophecies Hitomi and Adorai had made that Aramasu would kill his father. The Death of Yoritomo Opening Oblivion's Gate Shortly after the death of Yoritomo at Adorai's hands. Ryoshun, the guardian of the rift, lifted his hands to either side of the arch, pulled to either side of the massive stone gateway and an army of Returned Spirits flooded through the gateway, passing through the Kami's immortal spirit and rushing toward the allied armies of the Empire. Others stood on the far side of Oblivion's arch, destroying the Shadow that had invaded Jigoku. This army was led by Yoritomo and the Shadow began to retreat. The Death of Yoritomo, by Ree Soesbee Adorai began to seal the gate again. The Emperor Returns (Soul of the Empire flavor) Battle of Oblivion's Gate The gates of the city were broken by the Empire armies, and the Empire armies rushed into Volturnum. Adorai was busy making a ritual in the inner city, and did not face the enemy in the Battle of Oblivion's Gate. An army of Returned Spirits led by Toturi I had crossed the Oblivion's Gate and found themselves in the inner city of Volturnum, with the gates closed. Those who came out of the Gate more than half died fighting Goju within the city's heart, and the others became tainted the moment they set foot within the city. Volturnum's inner city was filled with Fu Leng's diseased power, and the Taint was as strong as the Shadows. The Council of Five opened the gate of inner Volturnum and the ancestors from Yomi and Toshigoku began to emerge from it, to be closed again, and the Goju could not enter the outer city. Voices: The Final Days of Oblivion's Gate, by Ree Soesbee Death The Dragon of Air allowed itself to become corrupted so that the Master of Fire Isawa Hochiu and his yojimbo Shiba Seiko could reach Adorai in the coliseum where Adorai was, beside the Oblivion's Gate. Seiko used her training as Shosuro Actress to deceive Adorai, disguising herself as the Master of Fire. As she fought Adorai she was mortally wounded, but had distracted him enough to allow Hochiu to sneak up on Adorai and land a mortal blow from behind. Darkness Defeat So long as the Lying Darkness hid behind the name of Goju Adorai, it could not be named, but once he was defeated then a name could be chosen, Hidden Emperor, p. 78 leading in the defeat of the Lying Darkness and the end of the War Against Shadow. Legend of the Five Rings RPG, Third Edition, p. 24 Aftermath The spirit of Goju Adorai passed into the Shadow Dragon, though the two were distinctly different beings. Goju still commanded a scrap of the Lying Darkness' power and shared it with the Shadow Dragon. Though the Shadow Dragon drew its influence by corrupting the primal Nothing, it was not powerful enough to completely devour the Nothing as Goju had done before. The Shadow Dragon ate away at the natural formlessness a little at a time. Adorai often visited the dreams of those who shared a close connection with the Shadow Dragon as a Yokai. Adorai became fully anchored by the existence of the Darkness in the Shadow Dragon and would cease to be if the Shadow Dragon were ever destroyed. Secrets of the Shadowlands, pp. 53-54 Alternate Reality In an alternate reality, Adorai was alive and well. Instead of patiently awaiting the death of Fu Leng, Adorai had turned Mirumoto Hitomi against the other Thunders, laying claim to her soul and her Clan. From the twisted and formless peaks of the Dragon Mountains, Adorai ruled his own kingdom that opposed even Fu Leng's dominion in Rokugan. Secrets of the Shadowlands, pp. 48-49 See also * Goju Adorai/Meta External Links * Goju Adorai (Dark Journey Home) * Goju Adorai Exp (Soul of the Empire) Goju Category:Characters with Pictures Category:Nothing Personalities